JP2012091836A - Gripper - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gripper which can assure opening and closing movement for a long period of time even under dry lubrication environment.SOLUTION: The gripper includes a pair of neck holders 20, 30 and a neck block 51 and a neck plate 54 which hold the neck holders 20, 30 from the vertical direction and also constrain vertical movement of the neck holders 20, 30. The neck holders 20, 30 swing centering on pivot pins 52, 53. The pivot pins 52, 53 fixed to the neck block 51 and the neck plate 54 are inserted into lubrication rings 25, 35 fixed to the neck holders 20, 30. The pivot pins 52, 53 and the lubrication rings 25, 35 slide to each other accompanying with swinging of the neck holders 20, 30 and since wear powders produced by the sliding are discharged into a wear powder storing part 26 formed in the neck plate 54, the powders are restrained from staying at the sliding part.

Description

  The present invention relates to a gripper used for delivery of a bottle container such as a PET bottle.

  As a bottle container transport device in a facility for filling a beverage such as a PET bottle, a plurality of grippers are attached to the outer periphery of a rotatable rotating body, and the gripper grips the body of the bottle container and rotates and conveys it. It has been. In such a bottle container transport device, if the size and shape of the bottle container are different, the thickness of the bottle container at the gripper gripping position changes, so that there is a problem that the gripper must be replaced or adjusted. there were. Various proposals have been made to eliminate such inconvenience by gripping the neck portion, which has a smaller difference in shape between the bottle containers than the body portion (for example, Patent Document 1). And in this bottle container conveying apparatus, it conveys, hold | gripping the neck part of a bottle container with a gripper.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-314752

The gripper includes a pair of neck holders having a portion for gripping the neck of the container as main components. The neck holder can be opened and closed. When the bottle is closed, the neck of the bottle container is grasped, and when the bottle container is opened, the neck of the bottle container can be taken in and out, so that the bottle container can be delivered. The gripper has a structure in which each member including the neck holder slides when opening and closing.
In conventional container transport apparatuses for beverage filling equipment, grippers are used in an environment where water is used as a lubricant (water lubrication). However, when an electron beam is used to sterilize the container, supply of water for lubrication to the gripper is limited. That is, since water and other liquids cannot be used for lubricating the sliding portions of the members of the gripper, so-called dry lubrication is achieved. Even if a highly wear-resistant material such as a resin is disposed on the sliding portion, the wear resistance of the sliding portion is inferior in a dry lubrication environment, which hinders the opening / closing operation of the gripper. In particular, in the sterilization environment unique to the electronic sterilization environment and food machinery, there is a limit to the wear-resistant material that can be used for the sliding part, so it is not easy to ensure the opening and closing operation of the gripper in a dry lubrication environment. .
The present invention has been made based on such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a gripper capable of securing an opening / closing operation over a long period of time even in an environment of dry lubrication.

The present inventors have observed the occurrence of wear powder that causes the gripper to interfere with the opening and closing operation. As a result, it was confirmed that when the amount of wear powder generated by the opening / closing operation increases in the sliding portion, the wear easily progresses, and that the wear progress can be delayed by eliminating the generated wear powder.
The gripper of the present invention made there is proposed to provide a wear powder storage part below the sliding part extending in the vertical direction. Since the generated wear powder falls and is stored in the wear powder storage portion, the retention of the wear powder in the sliding portion is suppressed. Therefore, the gripper of the present invention can ensure the opening / closing operation for a long period even in an environment of dry lubrication. In addition, the upper and lower sides in this invention shall be specified on the basis of the state where a gripper is used.

The basic configuration of the gripper to which the present invention is applied is as follows.
The gripper of the present invention includes a pair of neck holders that perform an opening and closing operation, and allow the neck portion of the bottle container to be inserted and removed freely when opened, and can constrain the neck portion when closed. In the neck holder, a sliding portion is formed between the neck holder and the swing shaft that forms the center of swing during the opening and closing operation.
The gripper of the present invention includes a pair of sandwiching bodies that sandwich and hold the pair of neck holders in the vertical direction. The wear powder container is provided in a sandwiching body disposed below.

In the gripper of the present invention, it is preferable to provide a wear powder discharge path that communicates the wear powder storage part with the outside in the holding body located below the sliding part.
By sucking the wear powder stored in the wear powder storage section through the wear powder discharge path, the wear powder can be more effectively discharged from the sliding section. Further, it is preferable that the wear powder discharge path is formed so as to descend from the connecting portion (rear end) to the wear powder containing portion toward the opening portion (front end) to the outside. By doing so, wear powder is easily produced outside.

According to the present invention, since the wear powder container is provided below the slide part, the wear powder generated in the slide part is prevented from dropping into the wear powder container and staying in the slide part. . Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a gripper that can ensure an opening / closing operation over a long period of time even in an environment of dry lubrication.
Further, in the present invention, when a wear powder discharge passage that communicates the wear powder container with the outside is provided in the sandwiching body, the wear powder is more effectively removed by sucking the wear powder stored in the wear powder container. It can be discharged from the sliding part.

It is a schematic diagram of a PET bottle filling device to which a gripper according to this embodiment is applied. It is a top view of a filler carrying-in wheel. It is a top view which shows the time of closing of the gripper which concerns on this embodiment. It is a fragmentary sectional side view which shows the time of closure of the gripper concerning this embodiment. It is a top view which shows the time of open | release of the gripper which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the neck block of the gripper which concerns on this embodiment, (a) is a top view, (b) is the 6b-6b sectional view taken on the line of (a), (c) is the 6c-6c sectional view of the (a) line FIG. It is a top view which shows the neck plate of the gripper which concerns on this embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the fulcrum pin vicinity of the gripper which concerns on this embodiment, and shows the 8a-8a cross section of FIG.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a PET bottle beverage filling apparatus in which a bottle container transport device including a gripper according to this embodiment is incorporated.
This PET bottle beverage filling device includes a carry-in conveyor 1 for carrying empty PET bottles (not shown) that have been sterilized and washed in a straight line, and one PET bottle that is rotated and carried by the carry-in conveyor 1 at a delivery point A one by one. Filler carry-in wheel 2 to be received and transported, PET bottles transported by filler carry-in wheel 2 are received and transported one by one at delivery point B, and filler 3 is filled with beverage in empty PET bottles during transport, rotation The filler carry-out wheel 4 that receives and conveys the PET bottles conveyed by the filler 3 one by one at the delivery point C, and receives and conveys the PET bottles that are rotated and conveyed by the filler carry-out wheel 4 one by one at the delivery point D. Delivery wheel 5, a capper that rotates and receives PET bottles that are transported by delivery wheel 5 one by one at delivery point E Incoming wheel 6, PET bottles rotated and conveyed by capper carry-in wheel 6 are received and conveyed one by one at delivery point F, and capper 7 for attaching a cap to a PET bottle filled with beverage during conveyance 7, a capper carry-out wheel 8 that receives and transports the PET bottles conveyed one by one at the delivery point G, and a carry-out conveyor 9 that receives the PET bottles conveyed by the capper carry-out wheel 8 at the delivery point H and carries them out in a straight line. It has.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the filler carry-in wheel 2 includes a cylindrical fixed shaft 10 having a hollow portion and a rotating body 11 that is rotatably supported by the fixed shaft 10.
The rotating body 11 is attached to the rotating shaft 12 inserted into the hollow portion of the fixed shaft 10, the rotating disc 13 attached to the upper side surface of the rotating shaft 12, and radially attached to the outer periphery of the rotating disc 13. And a plurality of grippers 14 for gripping the neck portion of the PET bottle P.

In this embodiment, the gripper 14 has a pair of neck holders 20 and 30 as shown in FIGS. Further, fulcrum holes 21 and 31 are formed in the intermediate portions of the neck holders 20 and 30, notches 22 and 32 are formed in the front end portions, and spring support sleeves 23 and 33 are formed in the rear end portions, respectively.
In the neck holders 20 and 30, semicircular recesses 28 and 38 into which the engagement pins 57 are fitted are formed between the fulcrum holes 21 and 31, respectively. Further, the neck holder 20 is formed with a convex portion 29 toward the neck holder 30 on the tip side of the concave portion 28.
Here, the notches 22 and 32 are provided for gripping the collar S provided at the neck of the PET bottle P (not shown), and the notch 22 (32) includes the collar S. A lower gripping portion 22a (32a) for gripping the lower side SU and an upper gripping portion 22b (32b) for gripping the upper side SO of the collar portion S are provided. In the present embodiment, the lower gripping portions 22a and 32a cover about 60% of the circumference of the lower portion of the collar portion S, while the upper gripping portions 22b and 32b cover about 20% of the circumference of the upper portion of the collar portion S. It comes to cover.

  Further, a neck block 51 is disposed above the middle part of the pair of neck holders 20 and 30, and fulcrum pins 52 and 53 attached to the neck block 51 (see FIG. 6) The fulcrum holes 21 and 31 of 20 and 30 are rotatably fitted. Lubricating rings 25 and 35 made of a resin material are firmly fitted around the fulcrum holes 21 and 31, and the fulcrum pins 52 and 53 attached to the neck block 51 are necked through the lubricating rings 25 and 35. The holders 20 and 30 are fitted so as to be rotatable. Further, a locking pin 56 is attached to the neck block 51 on the tip side of the fulcrum pins 52 and 53. The locking pin 56 is disposed between the neck holders 20 and 30, maintains the distance between the neck holders 20 and 30 when closed, and functions as a cam when opened to assist the swinging of the neck holder 20.

A neck plate 54 for fixing fulcrum pins 52 and 53 is disposed on the back surface of the neck holder 20 and 30 facing the neck block 51. The neck plate 54 is fixed to the neck block 51 by bolts B1 and B2. The
Between the neck block 51 and the neck holders 20 and 30, a lubricating plate 61 made of a resin material is interposed. The lubricating plate 61 is provided to prevent the neck holders 20 and 30 and the neck block 51 from sliding and wearing as the neck holders 20 and 30 are opened and closed. Of course, the lubricating plate 61 also wears with the opening and closing of the neck holders 20 and 30, but compared to replacing the neck holders 20 and 30 made of a metal material such as stainless steel and the neck block 51 due to wear. The cost can be reduced by replacing the lubricating plate 61. A lubricating plate 62 is also interposed between the neck plate 54 and the neck holders 20 and 30 for the same purpose.
As the resin material constituting the lubricating plates 61 and 62, it is preferable to use thermoplastic super engineering plastic, for example, polyether ether ketone resin (PEEK). The same applies to the lubricating rings 25 and 35 and the engagement pin 57 described above.
Further, as shown in FIG. 4, bolts B3 and B4 and positioning pins 59a and 59b for fixing to the rotating disk 13 of the filler carry-in wheel 2 (FIG. 2) are attached to the upper portion of the neck block 51. The neck block 51 has screw holes H1, H2 and bolts B3 into which the bolts B1 and B2 are screwed.
Screw holes H3 and H4 into which B4 is screwed are formed (see FIG. 6).

Here, in the neck plate 54, the periphery of the fulcrum pins 52 and 53 is set to have a large upper diameter, and a gap is formed above the holding holes 52H and 53H into which the fulcrum pins 52 and 53 are fitted. (See FIGS. 7 and 8). The gap is such that the radial dimension of the fulcrum pins 52 and 53 is equal to or greater than the radial thickness of the lubricating rings 25 and 35. This gap constitutes the wear powder accommodating portions 26 and 36. Therefore, the neck plate 54 fixes the fulcrum pins 52 and 53 below the gaps that constitute the wear powder accommodating portions 26 and 36. The neck plate 54 is formed with a holding hole 56H into which the locking pin 56 is fitted and a holding hole 57H into which the engagement pin 57 is fitted.
The lubricating plate 62 interposed between the neck plate 54 and the neck holders 20 and 30 has a large diameter around the fulcrum pins 52 and 53, and a gap is formed around the fulcrum pins 52 and 53. This gap also constitutes the wear powder container 26. The dimension in the radial direction of the gap is also equal to or greater than the radial thickness of the lubricating rings 25 and 35.
As described above, the wear powder accommodating portions 26 and 36 are provided below the sliding portions extending in the vertical direction between the lubricating rings 25 and 35 and the fulcrum pins 52 and 53 provided in the neck holders 20 and 30.

  The neck plate 54 is formed with wear powder discharge paths 27 and 37. The wear powder discharge paths 27, 37 are formed with grooves that have one end connected to the wear powder storage portions 26, 36 and the other end opened to the side surface of the neck plate 54. Further, the wear powder discharge paths 27 and 37 are formed so as to descend toward the opening end so that the wear powder can be easily discharged.

  Further, the end portions of the springs 60 are fitted into the spring support sleeves 23 and 33 provided in the neck holders 20 and 30. As a result, the gripper 14 is swung around the fulcrum pins 52 and 53 by the urging force of the spring 60 at the normal time (when closed), and the tip end portions (the notch portions 22 and 32 side) are kept close to each other. (See FIG. 3).

An arm 65 extending toward the neck holder 20 is formed on the lower side of the rear end side of the neck holder 30, and a circular cam is formed on the lower side of the free end of the arm 65 by a bolt B5. 67 is rotatably mounted.
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, cam plates 68 and 69 that are in contact with the cam 67 of the gripper 14 that moves as the rotating body 11 rotates are attached. Here, the cam plate 68 is disposed in the vicinity of the delivery point A with the carry-in conveyor 1 and abuts against the cam 67 to open the gripper 14 (see FIG. 5). The cam plate 69 is disposed in the vicinity of the delivery point B with the filler 3, abuts against the cam 67, and opens the gripper 14 like the cam plate 68. The cam plates 68 and 69 are fixedly disposed on the fixed shaft 10 via fan-shaped base plates 70 and 71, respectively.

Next, operation | movement of the filler carrying-in wheel 2 of the PET bottle drink filling apparatus which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated.
In FIG. 1, the PET bottle P conveyed by the carry-in conveyor 1 is delivered to the filler carry-in wheel 2 at the delivery point A.
In the filler carry-in wheel 2, the gripper 14 rotates as the rotating disk 13 rotates. At this time, the gripper 14 on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the delivery point A with the carry-in conveyor 1 does not hold the PET bottle P and is closed by the urging force of the spring 60 (see FIG. 3). .

  Next, when the gripper 14 reaches the vicinity of the delivery point A with the carry-in conveyor 1, the cam 67 comes into contact with the cam plate 68. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, when the cam 67 is pushed forward, the arm 65 swings forward, and with this swing, the neck holder 30 swings counterclockwise around the fulcrum pin 53. Move. By this swinging, the engagement pin 57 is pushed by the neck holder 30 and moves forward. By pushing the neck holder 20 while the engagement pin 57 moves forward, the neck holder 20 swings clockwise around the fulcrum pin 52. At this time, the neck holder 20 is easily swung by moving so that the convex portion 29 approaches the locking pin 56. That is, the locking pin 56 functions as a cam that helps the neck holder 20 swing. In this way, the gripper 14 is opened (see FIG. 5), and the PET bottle P is delivered from the carry-in conveyor 1 to this opening. The neck holder 20 is maintained in an open state by the locking pin 56 and the engagement pin 57. Then, the gripper 14 that has finished contacting the cam 67 and the cam plate 68 is closed again by the urging force of the spring 60, and the PET bottle P is rotated and conveyed while being gripped by the gripper 14.

Next, the gripper 14 that has reached the vicinity of the delivery point B with the filler 3 is opened when the cam 67 contacts the cam plate 69, and the PET bottle P is delivered to the filler 3 from this opening. . The gripper 14 that has finished the contact between the cam 67 and the cam plate 69 does not grip the PET bottle P and is closed again by the urging force of the spring 60.
Thereafter, the PET bottle P is rotated and conveyed by the filler carry-in wheel 2 while repeating the above-described process.
In the filler carry-in wheel 2, the gripper 14 having the lower gripping portions 22a and 32a and the upper gripping portions 22b and 32b grips the upper and lower portions of the collar portion S of the PET bottle P, and the lower gripping portion 22a and 32a lowers the flange portion SU. Therefore, even if a centrifugal force is applied to the PET bottle P during transport, the transport is performed in a stable state without disturbing the posture.

As the gripper 14 opens and closes, the lubrication rings 25 and 35 and the fulcrum pins 52 and 53 slide, so that the resin constituting the lubrication rings 25 and 35 is worn and wear powder is generated. According to the knowledge of the present inventor, not only the lubricating rings 25 and 35 but also the fulcrums are worn when the wear powder stays in the sliding portion formed between the lubricating rings 25 and 35 and the fulcrum pins 52 and 53. The pins 52 and 53 are also worn. This is a phenomenon that did not occur in water lubrication, and is a phenomenon unique to dry lubrication. And when this abrasion powder accumulates further, the opening / closing operation | movement of the gripper 14 will be impaired. However, according to the present embodiment, the wear powder generated in accordance with the opening / closing operation falls to the wear powder containing portions 26 and 36 provided below the sliding portion extending in the vertical direction. And the opening / closing operation of the gripper 14 can be secured over a long period of time.
In the present embodiment, the wear powder that has fallen into the wear powder storage portions 26 and 36 is discharged to the outside via the wear powder discharge paths 27 and 37. At this time, if a suction means is provided in the vicinity of the opening of the wear powder discharge passages 27 and 37 and the wear powder existing in the wear powder discharge passages 27 and 37 is sucked, the wear powder can be discharged more effectively to the outside. it can.

In the above embodiment, an example in which the wear powder accommodating portions 26 and 36 and the wear powder discharge paths 27 and 37 are provided for the fulcrum pins 52 and 53 has been described. However, the wear powder storage portion and the wear powder discharge path in the present invention are not limited to the fulcrum pins 52 and 53, but can be provided for the locking pin 56 or the engagement pin 57, and there are other sliding portions. In some cases, it can be provided in the part.
Needless to say, the gripper to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the gripper 14 shown in the above embodiment, but can be widely applied to other grippers having a sliding portion extending in the vertical direction. Moreover, although the above embodiment demonstrated the gripper 14 provided in the filler carrying-in wheel 2, it is applicable also to the conveying apparatus after the filler 3. FIG.
In addition to this, the configuration described in the above embodiment can be selected or changed to other configurations as appropriate within the scope of the present invention.

14 ... Gripper 20, 30 ... Neck holder 21, 31 ... Supporting hole 26, 36 ... Wear powder container 27, 37 ... Wear powder discharge passage 51 ... Neck block (clamping body)
52, 53 ... fulcrum pin (oscillating shaft)
54 ... Neck plate (clamping body)
56 ... Locking pin, 57 ... Interlocking pin 59a, 59b ... Positioning pin 61, 62 ... Lubricating plate 65 ... Arm, 67 ... Cam, 68, 69 ... Cam plate P ... PET bottle, S ... Brim

Claims (2)

Opening / closing operation allows the neck portion of the bottle container to be freely inserted and removed when opened, and restrains the neck portion when closed, and extends vertically between the swinging shaft that forms the center of swinging during the opening / closing operation. A pair of neck holders formed with a portion;
A pair of sandwiching bodies that sandwich and hold the pair of neck holders from above and below,
A wear powder storage portion is provided in the sandwiching body located below the sliding portion,
A container gripper characterized by the above. The sandwiching body located below the sliding portion is provided with a wear powder discharge passage that communicates the wear powder storage portion with the outside.
The gripper for container conveyance according to claim 1.

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